New Bike Reveal

The Secret is Out!

My beloved BSA Goldstar 650 'Goldie' has gracefully given way to a long lean and low newcomer. The Kawasaki Eliminator 500SE. Why the change? Well a good start might be to watch the video linked below. 

In it, I give an intro to the new bike and a brief explanation of why. More of course to come, but in the meantime there is the video above and photos below to peruse at your leisure. 

Kawasaki Eliminator 500SE

More to the point; what do I want from this bike? The short answer is everything. I want it to be capable of light touring, day trips, short trips, ride outs and being able to keep up with bigger bikes. Not much to expect eh? That means I'm gonna have to make some modifications, but these will be mostly for practical purposes. So, to that end, I've already ordered pannier rails and a small rack from AliExpress. I have mounted my Quad Lock phone mount on the bars so I can do Satellite navigation and I'm also looking at improving lighting. In order to do that, I'm probably going to have to mount engine bars. So, quite a few tasks to undertake to prepare this bike for the purposes for which I intend.

Eliminator 500SE Side View

The problem I have is that the bike as I'm writing this, has just 42 miles on the clock and I am due to go to the ABR festival on the 26th of June. That's just over two weeks away. Oh shit. However, I have factored this into my calculations which should mean that on return from ABR, I should be just over the 600 mile running in period. Fortunately, this bike doesn't require the same same treatment others do. I was informed by the dealer principal, that running in consisted of being gentle with it for the first 25 miles and then after that you can open the throttle and use the rev range. He did advise some caution in that you shouldn't run it at the red line for extended periods and also sensible things like using engine braking to wear in the gears correctly would help to give it the best possible start in life.

Eliminator500SE Front View

So, what are my initial impressions? Well, I'm still in the honeymoon period so I think it's absolutely fantastic and to be honest in almost all measurable ways it is a much better bike than my BSA Goldstar. There, I've said it better than my Goldstar. Well, let me temper that by saying in all measurable ways doesn't necessarily equate to loving it more. Just to say, though that it has been a delight to ride. The engine is smooth and the power is linear up to speeds that I think my Goldstar would have struggled to reach as quickly. The handling is effortless, the braking is good, the clutch is super light and the bike appears to be well finished. It also is physically lighter and lower which gives me, as a smaller rider, more confidence when riding. Result.

At Last! - a Proper LED Headlight

The Downsides

Now, nothing is perfect not least of all Motorcycles and this one is no exception. Things on it that I don't like include the enormous silencer. The sound is not actually an issue for me but what I am finding is it does get in the way of your right leg when you're trying to move the bike around at a standstill. Replacement silencer is on the list, but really quite low down. Removing the seat to get out things underneath it is a bit of a struggle, which might be improved if I can get some lubrication onto it. The ignition key seems to be wobbling around in its socket, but the salesman has told me this is normal and the writing on the tank looks quite cheap. I'm also no fan of the semi matte finish as I am at a loss as to how it should be maintained. That being said I'm coming round to the colour scheme, so I'm now going for blacked out all round which has meant already putting black covers on some of the bolt heads over the engine. So, it's an example of making the best of what's there and there's plenty there which I'm really looking forward to developing over time. That being said, I don't have the biggest budget in the world so a lot of parts are going to be obtained cheaply via AliExpress, eBay and Marketplace. Hopefully, my quest to make this bike how I want it to be will also make for good viewing on YouTube, so another good reason to follow me in this journey as I typically, in Captain Clumsy style make a mess of what other people seem to find simple tasks. However, hopefully I'm going to be providing some inspiration for those who might think they can't simply touch a spanner for fear of things breaking. Yes, you can and if I can do it so can anyone.😁

That Cheap Decal

Next...

Thank for reading this longer exposition on my new Kawasaki eliminator 500 SE as I begin my journey of ownership. Hopefully you'll find it more instructive and illuminating than what can be put on a Facebook post. I find Facebook by it's transient nature quite restrictive in terms of expression and I never feel completely at ease when reading posts. There appears to be this endless need to scroll on to move onto the next thing and sometimes Facebook just does it for you, so you can be in the middle of something and then what you were involved with just disappears or the one you were going to read next is gone completely. Then finding things again can be almost impossible. The advantages therefore of a Blog post such as this one which is attached to my own particular domain is that it is permanent. It can be read at any time by anyone and they can take advantage of the better typography and the high-quality images whilst not being crowded by the incessant background noise that is Social Media.